[drh4683]

The 29JC20 from Seattle craigslist arrived yesterday through craters and freighters. Very high quality packaging job. It cost me just under $500 to get it here. It was worth it as it was for Zenith's very first mass produced color set.
Everything arrived in great shape. So if anyone ever wants a console shipped, go with craters and freighters. Just tell them the pick up address and its a done deal from there. The pics you see are in order from how the shipment looked to where it was uncrated.

As for the TV, its completely original, down to the CRT with a 61-48 date code. Still had a good number of original zenith tubes on the chassis which all tested good. Once I got the set indoors, I waited a while for it to acclimate to room temperature before powering it up as it was quite cold outside. Nothing got jarred out of position durring transit so it was safe to fire up.
Once it warmed up, I noticed one of the 3DG4 rectfiers wasn't lighting up. The heater opened, probably durring shippment. I put in a new pair of GE 3DG4's. This got the set working, but then I noticed the vertical hold was way off and wouldn't hold. It would lock at 30hz and get a double split picture! I checked the 6EM7 and it had an open plate, meter would't read a thing. Put in an nos sylvania and still wouldn't lock. Had to pull the chassis. I forgot that the set being as old as it is that there would be a good number of those black beauty caps in there. Sure enough, a shorted .0068 uF in the oscillator circuit. I just "tacked" in a cheap replacement just to get it going so I could play around with the rest of the set. Reason being, it will get totally recapped with sprage orange drops that I will order though mouser. HV section is excellent and regulates fine with great range of the HV. Havn't checked the cathode current yet, but the set won't get much on time untill it gets recapped. There are a few black beauties in the efficiancy coil circuit and I don't want anything to run hot incase those are leaky which Im sure they are.

The set works half way decent. Color circuits are great, hues balance nice between green and purple. The photo of it turned on is how it looks with no other adjustments or repairs other than the vertical cap replacement. The convergence is off. CRT is weak but havn't done anymore other than raise the heater voltage to reactivate the cathodes. It gets brighter as it warms up. Oh well. Worst case sceanario it will go to hawkeye to get a rebuild. CRT needs to come out anyway as the lens has a bit of fogging from the rubber lens gasket.

The set is in wonderful condition for its age, and it was from an extremely clean home as there was practically no dust inside the set and a clean corrosion free chassis.